Nightscapes

How the Moon Rises

While it may appear that this giant crane is causing the moon to rise, in reality, the rotation of the Earth combined with the Moon orbiting the Earth is what makes the moon appear to rise and set. This forced perceptive image was taken two days before a full moon, when approximately 96% of the lunar surface that we can see from Earth was illuminated by direct sunlight. As the Moon orbits the Earth, we see over the course of a 14-day cycle, the change in the amount of light reflecting from the moon, by the sun - from a full moon, to a half moon, then finally to a new moon (no direct illumination) and then back again.